Jane Austen to feature on £10 note

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has confirmed that author Jane Austen will appear on our tenners in the next few years.

Jane Austen, the hugely popular 19th-century novelist, will replace Charles Darwin on the £10 note later this decade.

Today’s announcement follows April’s furore when the Bank of England announced that Winston Churchill would replace social reformer Elizabeth Fry on the £5 note. Replacing Fry was a controversial move because it meant no Bank of England note would carry a woman’s image apart from the Queen. (The Queen appears on one side of all Bank of England notes.)

Mark Carney, the new Bank of England Governor, is keen to make sure that this kind of controversy won’t be repeated.

“We believe that our notes should celebrate the full diversity of great British historical figures and their contributions in a wide range of fields….we want people to have confidence in our commitment to diversity. That is why I am today announcing a review of the selection process for future banknote characters,” he commented.

The Bank of England regularly changes the designs of its banknotes to make it harder for fraudsters to counterfeit money.

The design of the £10 note was last changed in 2000 when Charles Darwin replaced Charles Dickens. Elizabeth Fry replaced George Stephenson, the great railway pioneer, on the £5 note in 2002.

The new ‘Jane Austen’ £10 note will carry a quote from Pride and Prejudice: “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading."

There will also be a picture of Godmersham Park, the home of Austen’s brother. Jane Austen apparently visited this house often and ‘Mansfield Park’ is said to depict some characters and scenes from Godmersham village.

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